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Abstract
This study identifies the most important factors affecting customers’ decisions to buy pickyour-
own versus prepicked strawberries and muscadine grapes at direct-market operations
in North Carolina. The relative importance analysis identified the region of location of the
operations and prices as the explanatory variable explaining most of the variation observed
in the customer’s decision to choose the type of fruit to purchase. The estimated price
elasticities indicate that sales of each type of fruit are very sensitive to prices.